This invention generally relates to a remote operation. More particularly, it relates to a remote operation apparatus and a method thereof, capable of easily changing a work program when the work cannot be carried out as the program directs an initial work program due to the corrosion of the object, or the like.
A remote operation apparatus according to the prior art employs the construction in which master arms and slave arms are so assembled as to perform mutually analogous operations, the slave arms are controlled by manipulating the master arms, and a burden to an operator is reduced by rendering a ratio of similarity of the operations of the master arms and the slave arms variable (refer to JP-A-1-310873).
To carry out an elaborate work without depending on an operator, on the other hand, a system is known in which a work message is generated in accordance with an intention of a work and an operation environment by inputting a work name and is then sent to a robot (refer to JP-A-1-131904).
According to the system described in JP-A-1-310873, an operation can be provided easily, but no failure is permitted because the movement of a hand of an operator directly leads to the movement of a robot. For this reason, the operator must continuously grip the master arm and keep his nerve at high tension while the robot is being operated. According to the system described in JP-A-1-131904, data on the robot and on a shape, strength and function of an operation object are necessary in order to practically convert the work name to a command to be applied to the robot. In the case of repair of an atomic power plant, etc., for example, degradation occurs in the object article, and the shape, the strength and the function of such an article change from time to time. Accordingly, the data given to the system cannot be said to be complete. In other words, the work cannot always be carried out as expected by the operator when he sets up the work program, and the work might result in failure.
In the remote operation apparatus according to the prior art, degradation occurs in the object article, and the shape, the strength and the function of the object article are likely to change. Accordingly, the data, given to the system cannot always be complete, and the work cannot always be carried out as expected when the operator sets up the work program, and the work sometimes results in failure. When an atomic power plant is to be repaired, this failure induces critical safety and economical problems.
Incidentally, a manipulator for conducting a work in an environment where an operation position and a site of a work are extremely remote from each other with a certain time delay is described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/128,723 entitled "Remote Control Device and Method for Manipulator", filed on Sep. 30, 1993.